by Chigozie Chukwuemeka
Among the Yoruba people, masquerades are regarded as long dead relatives from the world beyond. And annually, the dead come back to visit their children on earth, with plenty of gifts while they in return pray for the wellbeing of the living. Traditionally, masquerades appear in the open at specific periods of the year and play prominent roles in the celebration of cultural festivals. Masquerades also appear in public when a new Oba is to be installed. performance and public display are often something to behold for the people. And indeed, the approach of a masquerade festival is something that the people often look forward to with relish. But, for residents of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the fear of masquerades has become the beginning of wisdom.
Recently, a festival that people once looked eagerly forward to has become a thing to dread, as masquerades have turned themselves to terrors at private homes, junctions, newsstands, pubs, markets, shops and other public places. And anyone who declines their request is flogged, manhandled and brutalised. They carry out attacks on traders at the markets and steal their ware in the ensuing melees. Motorists and motorcyclists who decline their request had their vehicles and bikes vandalised and their passengers attacked. The attacks, which were reported to the palace by victims and other concerned residents, have increased dangerously in recent times. A masquerade group usually involves a long line of young boys and girls with blood-shot eyes welding clubs, sticks and cudgels who reek of alcohol and smoking cigarettes and marijuana.
The crisis got out of hand when they allegedly staged an attack on St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in the Oke Ila area of the city. According to report, the masquerades terrorised members of the church and smashed the head of one of the worshipers with a broken bottle on Friday, September 9. Speaking on the incidence, the Vicar of the church, Venerable Zacchaeus Olu Ibitoye described the invasion as ‘sacrilegious and barbaric’, saying God’s sanctuary must be hallowed and respected. He further warned that Ado Ekiti should not be turned into a safe haven for criminals where people would be living in palpable fear, saying the town is for all Ekiti and Nigerian citizens. The cleric who also added that palace chiefs visited the church on a fact-finding mission, said the incident has been reported to the Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Reverend Christopher Omotunde.
But the Odogun of Ado Ekiti, Chief Obayemi Aladetoyinbo, who is the custodian of the masquerade called ‘Paragogo’ whose adherents had shaken the entire Ado Ekiti last Saturday, ascribed the incident to either the work of suspected armed robbers and cultists, which he alleged were rampant in the area. Giving his own account of the incident, High Chief Aladetoyinbo disclosed that the attack occurred at about 5am on Friday, a day preceding his festival and that it would be wrong to have fingered his people as being behind the wicked act. The chief absolved masquerades under his control and explained that he had reported to the police several times about the activities of cultists in the Oke Ila area, who he said are involved in day and night robbery, and wondered why nothing has been done to abate the situation. The Odogun, who wondered whether the suspected cultists are above arrest, also disclosed that the Ewi is concerned about the menace of masquerades at a time the city is witnessing physical, social and economic developments.
The monarch, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III announced a temporary ban on masquerade festival in the city until September 15 when his traditional cabinet, the Ewi-in-Council, holds a meeting to review the situation after which a final decision will be taken. He warned that chiefs would henceforth be held responsible for the breach of public peace carried out by any masquerade traceable to their quarters. The state government also followed up with another paid advert on the state radio and television, banning activities of masquerades, saying their action has become a security risk to residents.
